St. Elizabeth Healthcare and ArtWorks, an award-winning nonprofit that has created public art throughout the Greater Cincinnati region, unveiled a 59-foot-tall by 91-foot-wide mural to honor the heroic efforts of healthcare workers worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. St. Elizabeth is simultaneously celebrating its 160th anniversary, which means this mural commemorates a significant moment in the hospital’s history.
The piece features a masked healthcare worker in a comic book-theme and is visible on the Western Loading Dock of the Newport on the Levee complex at 1 Levee Way near the Taylor Southgate Bridge in Newport. It can also be seen from various locations in downtown Cincinnati.
“We can never thank our healthcare heroes enough for the sacrifices they’ve made throughout this pandemic,” said Matt Hollenkamp, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. “This mural not only allows us to express our gratitude for healthcare workers throughout our region and world, but to also reflect on our past 160 years of care and celebrate our next 160 years of being right here for our patients and community.”
One of the thousands of courageous healthcare workers at St. Elizabeth is Lee Ann Ernst, Coordinator of the St. Elizabeth Infectious Disease Response Team (IDRT). At the height of the pandemic, Ernst led nearly 500 employed healthcare workers who volunteered for the IDRT, including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, environmental services, lab, radiology, security and others, who had 12-hour shifts suiting up in personal protective equipment such as jumpsuits, masks, boots and gloves to spend three, four-hour rotations caring for COVID-19 patients.
“I’ve been a nurse since 1982, and this has been the most significant and memorable example of teamwork, patient care and hard work that I have experienced,” Ernst recalled. “I am so proud of my team members and St. Elizabeth for everything they did in these challenging times.”
From retired nurses rejoining the workforce to aid in the fight, to environmental and nutrition services workers adding to their traditional shift schedules, to a nurse raising more than $1,000 to help a young family whose mother was sick with COVID-19 and needed additional support, healthcare workers have exemplified what it means to be right here for our community.
“It has been a trying time in our world. We have all come together and have given our patients the very best care. It’s what we believe in and is what we were called to do,” Ernst added.
St. Elizabeth Healthcare commissioned ArtWorks and BLDG, a Covington-based design studio, in March 2021 to design the mural as a symbol of gratitude and support for the incredible work being performed by healthcare workers everywhere.
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We are deeply grateful for those on the frontlines,” Sydney Fine, ArtWorks Senior Director of Impact said. “Our team is proud to be a part of this project where we can thank these workers in a monumental way.”
The mural is titled “The Healthcare Heroes Save the Day,” and depicts a healthcare worker assuring the community that “I’m right here.” Next to the healthcare worker, a quote bubble with “thank you” represents the thousands of messages of gratitude St. Elizabeth received from a grateful community throughout the pandemic.
The project took nearly 30 gallons of paint and the expertise of six local artists, including one teaching artist, Evan Hildebrandt, and five youth apprentices: Alyssa Baker, Wesley Ericson, Hanna Smith, Angela Ramirez and Bri Wales.
-Staff report